Cheers
by B.Bridgewater
Summary: Reiner and Christa have been living together for the two past years since graduation, and their relationship is still utterly platonic. The two throw a New Year's party with all their old friends who went their separate way after graduation, and Bertholdt convinces Reiner to confess at the party. What happens when Ymir shows up to the party after disappearing since graduation?


**Author's Note:** _I had wanted to release a one shot on Christmas but that didn't work out sadly. I was not about to let New Year's slip past me too :P I hope you enjoy!_

**~o Cheers o~**

"This is gonna be so fun!" Christa exclaimed with a stretch, leaning on the frame at the end of the hallway. "It's been so long since we've all been together!"

She watched Reiner hang up the phone from the loveseat. "Yea about two years.", he breathed as he sat back in his seat. "The only people left to call are Annie, Mikasa, Eren, and Armin. If our luck is good, Eren those still travel in a pack." Reiner grinned when he heard Christa giggle.

Christa walked across the average sized living room and sat right next to Reiner. "Did you hear from Ymir yet?", she asked innocently.

Reiner flinched. "No. Nobody's heard from her since graduation and nobody knows any contact for her."

Well, it was the truth. Ymir practically disappeared after graduation and not even Christa could contact her anymore.

Christa sighed and hugged her knees close to her chest. "I wonder what she's been up to.", she hummed.

Reiner stood up suddenly. "I just remembered I promised Bert I'd meet him somewhere." He made for the door but stopped when he heard Christa call out to him.

"Reiner wait!" He heard her scamper into the hallway and return in moments, struggling to get her shoes on her feet while trying to shimmy into her jacket. Although she almost took a nose-dive into the hardwood floor, she caught herself just in time. Reiner held his chest but returned Christa's relieved smile with one of his own. "I have to pick up a few things and there's only one car. Mind dropping me off?"

Reiner crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes in thought. "Mm, I don't know. I have no idea what Bertholdt has planned or how long it'll take. If I drop you off, I can't guarantee I'll be able to pick you up after."

"That's alright, I'll wait until whatever you guys are doing is finished. I just _really_ don't wanna catch the bus if I can avoid it." Christa reasoned.

Reiner wasn't too sure he was willing to risk leaving Christa stranded for what may even lead into hours, but still, he resigned. "Fine."

"Thank you!" Christa tip-toed to kiss him on the cheek and, although it lasted only a moment and was practically meaningless, Reiner was completely flushed over. Of course, he turned away from her so she wouldn't see, pretending like he was turning to start heading out to the car.

During the ride, they made idle chit-chat, mostly about their friends and what they were all doing now. So far, they found out that Sasha has been traveling the continent as a renowned competitive eating champ and Connie had been drafted for a professional baseball team. They also know that both Mikasa and Annie compete in mixed martial arts tournament and have both created big names for themselves. Reiner and Christa sometimes find themselves watching one of the girl's matches on TV. Jean immediately got into law enforcement, same as Reiner. They're both even on the same squad. Bertholdt chose to study Law in England after receiving a scholarship. Christa also chose to continue her studies, though she attends a local nursing school. Eren and Armin's statuses remain unknown to them, and of course, Ymir too.

Before long they arrived at the market and Christa thanked Reiner again.

"Don't forget to call when you're finished." Reiner reminded her before pulling off.

Christa pulled a paper from her pocket and looked at the words scribbled across it. Deciding that she would begin her shopping with the books she wanted to get, she made her way to the small bookshop first.

She wasn't really paying attention while she walked so it was no surprise when she bumped into someone and ended up dropping her list. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Christa?"

Christa immediately looked up at the sound of her name being called and she couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face when she realized who she crashed into.

~oOo~

When Reiner arrived to the spot he and Bertholdt agreed on, a small cafe not too far from the market he just dropped Christa off to, it took awhile before he was able to locate the tall boy.

After about five minutes of searching, he was relieved when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Reiner, over here!" Bertholdt called from a seat looking like he had been waiting patiently for some time now.

Reiner quickly ran over, grinning from ear-to-ear when he saw his friend. Bertholdt always kept in contact with Reiner and Christa, even going as far as visiting when his school was on holiday. Reiner took a seat directly across from him.

"I already ordered a coffee for you." Bertholdt stopped Reiner as he flagged down one of the waitresses.

"Oh thanks."

"So about this New Year's party, sounds fun, is everyone coming?" the black haired boy struck up conversation.

"So far I still gotta call Annie-"

"Oh I told her already, she said she'd be there. Mikasa those too." Their coffees arrived. Reiner didn't waste any time in taking his first sip while Bertholdt took in a whiff of the aroma before tasting it.

"You got in contact with all of them?" Reiner asked incredulously.

Bertholdt shook his head. He leaned an elbow on the table, smiling with a small trace of excitement. "You'd never believe... Did you know Annie was living with those three now?"

Reiner nearly choked on his coffee. "Seriously!? I thought she and Mikasa couldn't stand each other!"

"So I thought too.", the tall boy nodded his head sagely. "But from what I understand she and Mikasa train together now."

Reiner sat for a moment, imagining a typical training session between the two. "Sounds dangerous." Bertholdt nodded in agreement. "So what are Armin and Eren saying for themselves?"

"Armin became an intern for one of the local professors and has been helping him with research and traveling with him on all his business trips. He's rarely home. Eren on the other hand... doesn't know what he wants to do right now, so he's been assisting Mikasa and Annie the whole time."

Reiner hummed in response but still looked far gone, his eyes glued to his coffee cup. Suddenly he looked up at Bertholdt. "Hey Bert, I may be wrong, but you don't suppose that Annie has a thing for Eren do you? I mean why else would she choose to move in with him and Mikasa?"

Bertholdt's eyes widened at Reiner's question, Reiner quick to pick up on his friend's reaction. It also didn't take long for Reiner to realize why and he immediately apologized.

"Sorry bro, I forgot you li-"

"It's okay Reiner, I got rejected already anyway. And besides it was a long time ago, I'm over it." Bertholdt smiled when he saw Reiner eying him in disbelief. "Honest."

"Alright then." Reiner still dropped the topic, a little uneasy with it now.

Just as quickly as Reiner dropped that one, Bert brought up one of his own. Well, this idea _was_ the reason he called Reiner out in the first place and now was the perfect time to bring it up. He nonchalantly brought his cup to his lips but didn't take another sip. Instead, he spoke into it as if what he was saying had no significance to it. "While we're on the topic, are you gonna confess to Christa at the New Year's party?"

Bertholdt succeeded in catching Reiner off guard, the boy unable to swallow the coffee that got caught in his throat. When he finally got a hold of himself, he was gasping for breath. _I came close to a heart attack too many times today._, he muttered to himself. "What makes you think I'm going to do something like that anyway?"

"Come on Reiner, it's sad." Bertholdt scolded. "You've been living with your crush for the past _two years_ and she _still_ doesn't know you have feelings for her. In addition to the three years of high school since you met her, that's five years of you not making your feelings clear." Bertholdt lifted his large hand, all his fingers extended just to emphasize his point.

"Well... I... You see... Is it really fair to say three years? She was only in our homeroom for our last year." Reiner tried to mask the severity of the situation because Bertholdt made him feel absolutely horrible about it.

"While that's true-" Bertholdt folded his arms in front of his chest. "You've been talking about her since the very first day of school. At the orientation, you literally would not rest until you talked to her, then you had to find out her name, then you made it your, or should I say _our_ mission, to find out what homeroom she was in because you were too nervous to ask her yourself." Bertholdt stopped to take a breath, frustrated with his friend's pitiful attempts at love. "You made me confess to Annie before we graduated, now I'm gonna make you confess to Christa at the New Year's party."

"I don't know..." Reiner rested his head in his hands. "I don't think I'd be able to handle it if she rejects me.", he admitted.

"How do you know if you have a chance unless you tell her?", Bertholdt reasoned. "Let me let you in on something. When Annie rejected me, it hurt like hell, but you know what? In the next few days I felt sort of relieved. It was better than not knowing at all. Better than dangling myself on constant what ifs and chasing something that turned out wasn't possible for me. The point is, you won't know if it's possible for you until you let her know Reiner, and the longer you wait, the more time you would have wasted."

Reiner swallowed. He knew Bertholdt was right and he's definitely been putting this off for too long already. He sighed. "Alright, alright, I get it."

"So you'll do it then?"

"Yeah, I just wanna get this over with."

~oOo~

"Christa?"

Christa looked up and took in the full form of the black haired girl in front of her. "Mikasa!" She launched up and hugged her old friend, earning a rare smile from the other girl. "I almost didn't recognize you without your scarf." Christa joked. She was a little surprised though, Mikasa wore that red scarf all through high school, no matter how hot it got, so on a chilly day like this...

"I heard about the little New Year's party you and Reiner are planning. We'll definitely be coming." She was still as straight-forward as always.

"That's great!" Christa clapped her hands together. "When you say 'we', you mean you, Eren, and Armin?"

Mikasa nodded. "And Annie.", she added.

There was an awkward silence. Christa wasn't sure whether it was okay to question that or not, especially since Mikasa's face was so unreadable.

"That means just about everyone will be there!" Christa forced herself to speak excitedly.

"Just about?"

"Yeah." Christa was having trouble maintaining her smile. "No one can contact Ymir so we couldn't tell her about the party."

"I just saw Ymir a few days ago, right here in town." When Mikasa saw how Christa suddenly grew very interested in what she was saying, she decided to continue. "She was lurking around the arena after one of my matches so I approached her. She actually asked me if I had a contact for you, but this was before Bertholdt called us so I couldn't help. I haven't seen her since."

"Oh okay." Christa was slightly disappointed and Mikasa picked up on that.

"I wish I could've helped. I know how close you two were in school."

"No that's alright, really!" Christa waved. "At least I know she's probably still in town. That's a start!"

~oOo~

After Bertholdt left, Reiner stuck around for awhile, deciding to go purchase some fireworks while he waited on Christa's call. When he found some that caught his interest he took them to the shop counter to pay. Just as he left the small store, a small black car pulled up just across from him. When the driver eventually stepped out, Reiner grit his teeth, just knowing that the tall girl was coming toward him.

"Well if it ain't old Reiner." She spat.

"Ymir." Reiner addressed her with equal distaste. "What are you doing in this part of town?"

"I've got some unfinished business to take care of that can't wait any longer." Ymir smirked. "I caught wind that you're having a party, where's my invitation?", she teased.

"You're not invited and you know that damn well."

"I wasn't planning on coming anyway. Why waste my time with you when I have important things to do?"

Reiner scowled. "I don't even get why Christa wants you to come so bad."

Ymir's facial expression changed almost immediately. "Christa's gonna be there?"

Taking full advantage, Reiner's face turned smug. "Of course she will, we've been living together for the past two years. It's her place too." He conveniently left out the fact that their relationship has been totally platonic the whole time.

Ymir bit down on her lip, a little conflicted at this point. Reiner however, didn't give her the time to figure things out before he left. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket, knowing it was Christa calling for him to pick her up. He didn't take out his phone until he was completely in his car. He didn't want to risk Christa hearing Ymir's voice and in turn, asking him to invite her. He would have to if Christa asked him to.

The conversation was short on the phone, just mostly Christa giving her coordinates. Reiner pulled off and made his way over to Christa's location.

Once he got the little blonde, they went straight home, both their minds focused elsewhere. The party would be tomorrow evening and Reiner hoped that it would mean the end of being 'just friends' with the girl of his dreams in favor of something more.

When they got home and Reiner put away the fireworks, they both sat on the loveseat and turned on the television, although neither of them was watching, otherwise someone would have realized the volume was extremely low.

"I ran into Mikasa today, she said that she, Eren, Armin, and Annie are all coming tomorrow." Christa mentioned.

"Yea, Bert told me, he's the one that made the call."

"Oh." There were a few more minutes of pretending to watch television. "Mikasa also said there's a chance Ymir is in town."

Reiner flinched. "Is that so?" He wasn't sure if Christa already knew that he and Ymir bumped each other earlier and she was simply baiting it out of him, or if this was purely coincidental.

Christa nodded, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Hopefully she'll run into one of the guys and they'll tell her about the party. I really want her to be there."

"I know you two were close, but why do you want her to come so bad?" The thought of it made him frustrated.

"Because I feel like we parted so abruptly. I don't know, everything just feels really unfinished the way it is now."

~oOo~

So the next day came easily and the time to party had arrived. The majority were there already and things were just getting lively. Christa was glad that Reiner had convinced her that white furniture would be a bad idea a few months ago, otherwise their house would be permanently stained with alcohol, soda, and barbecue sauce. The house wasn't that big to begin with, but after moving around a few chairs and putting the table outside, it was open enough for everyone to move.

It was exciting, considering most hadn't seen each other for the full two years. Amazingly, not much had changed. Jean and Eren were already on the peak of fighting outside while Sasha had yet to leave the kitchen since arriving. Everything was going great, just as Reiner planned.

He and Bertholdt were sitting outside, Reiner receiving a special pep-talk before the big moment. This was it, he was determined. Tonight, it was go big or go home. Right now, Christa was in the kitchen, trying to get Sasha to leave some food for the rest of the guests.

"You ready for this buddy?" Bertholdt patted his shoulder.

Reiner took in a few breaths, nervous as hell. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Go do it." He slapped Reiner on his back. "Tell me how it goes."

Just when Reiner was about to get up, some commotion came from inside. He could vaguely hear some arguing, even from where he was. By the time he got in, he only met a scene of disgruntled people.

"What happened?" Reiner asked in an attempt to get to the bottom of it.

Jean was the one that filled him in. "Ymir came in a few minutes ago and apparently a drink was spilled, and there was some arguing... Look, I'm not entirely sure exactly what happened either. I was using the bathroom. All I know is that Christa came and took Ymir outside."

"Where? I didn't see them and I was just out there."

Jean looked around for help answering, but no one seemed to know. He could only offer Reiner a shrug.

Meanwhile, Christa dragged Ymir to the backyard. No one else bothered to go back there because Reiner had made it clear that the front yard was set up for the party, not the back. Christa knew they wouldn't be bothered there.

"What are you doing Ymir!?" Christa yelled at her when she was satisfied that they were far enough from the other party-goers. "You suddenly show up and the first thing you do is start fighting!"

"Hey, it's not my fault! I didn't even start it!" Ymir defended.

"That's not the point!" Christa held the bridge of her nose and calmed herself down. When she was finally calmed, she looked up at Ymir. "Where were you Ymir? What were you doing all this time? Why is your number disconnected?" She had so many questions for Ymir but she decided to start off with these.

Ymir rubbed the back of her head. "With the number thing, my phone got messed up and I had to get a new one."

"Then why didn't you call and give me your new number? I didn't have yours, but mine didn't change."

"Christa..." Before Ymir could explain herself further Reiner came running towards them. "Fuck it.", she mumbled to herself, too low for Christa to hear.

"Christa, and... _Ymir_." Reiner addressed her with the usual disdain. "What are you doing back here?"

"Just catching up." Christa lied.

"Mind leaving us alone, I'm only here to talk to Christa. I'll leave when I'm done." Ymir shooed Reiner.

"Ymir that's not nice, you know you're welcomed here."

"That's not what he said." Ymir pointed with her head, not interested in looking at Reiner right now. Christa looked at Reiner for answers but he offered none. Ymir scoffed. "Look just let me talk to her alone please. I'm even askin' nicely."

"There can't be anything that you can say to Christa that you can't say in front of me." Reiner challenged.

"Rei-" Christa was cut off by the click of Ymir's tongue.

"You know what, fine! It doesn't matter who's around anyway." Ymir faced Christa, her face turned serious as she completely drowned out Reiner's presence in her mind. "All that matters is that you hear me and believe me." She cupped Christa's cheek with one hand, and grabbed one of Christa's hands with the other, holding it as she spoke softly, in a gentle tone that even Christa had never heard before. "I love you Christa. I mean the 'I can't stop thinking about you and want to spend the rest of my life with you' kind of love."

Christa was shocked by Ymir's sudden confession and her eyes began to pool over with tears. Reiner on the other hand, was not about to take this laying down. "You always do this Ymir. Every time, you just ruin everything I try to do. Even now," His voice gradually elevated from a low growl to a yell. "Even now when I finally decide, after _five long years_ to confess my feelings for Christa. To finally make everything clear. But even that, you take from me? Bullshit!"

"Reiner, you too?" Christa looked over at him, already tearing up.

Ymir stepped toward him, letting go of Christa to get rid of what she now labeled an 'undoubted pest'. "Listen I don't know what your problem is or what you're trying to pull-"

"I should be saying that to you! Stop trying to involve Christa in your disgusting little fantasies."

"Why don't you shut up and let Christa decide who's disgusting?" Ymir hissed.

They both turned to Christa, who stood dumbstruck, not sure what to do right now. "I... I..." She couldn't find the right words.

Nobody ever accused Ymir of being patient, not to mention she was already a little uneasy. "Just forget it!" She stomped away before hearing the answer.

"Wai-" Christa had made to run after Ymir, but Reiner stopped her by grabbing onto her arm.

"Wait, please, just give me an answer." Reiner pleaded with her, his heart pounding in his chest.

When he finally took a good look in Christa's eyes though, he realized he didn't need an answer. He knew. "I'm so sorry Reiner." Christa sobbed. "So, so sorry."

Reiner let her go, or maybe his arm just went limp, either way Christa was free to chase after Ymir and he was left there, defeated. _I didn't know it would hurt this bad_. He mumbled between grit teeth, holding his chest as he fell to his knees, shivering as the tears forced their way out.

Christa followed Ymir all the way to the freckled girl's car, catching up just in time to stop her before she started the engine.

"Ymir, wait!" She spoke between pants.

"No way, just go hug up with Reiner." Ymir stubbornly tried to pull her car door close but Christa refused to let her.

"Ymir listen to me."

"Why should I bother?"

"Ymir!" Christa shouted.

"Wha-"

Ymir was silenced by Christa's lips as she was pulled into a chaste but passionate kiss. It didn't take long for Ymir to respond, wrapping her arms around Christa's waist and pulling her onto her lap in the driver's seat, never once breaking the kiss.

Eventually, the need for air caused the two to break apart.

"Ymir..." Christa breathed. "I've loved you since high school but didn't say anything in case you thought it was weird. But I loved you and I was going to tell you after graduation but you disappeared almost immediately after and nobody heard from you since." Christa began to shake but Ymir pulled her closer, calming her slightly. "I was scared I'd never get to tell you how I feel. That you'd never know."

Ymir pressed their foreheads together. _Since high school... _she repeated under her breath. "You know I spent one year after graduation sorting out my feelings for you, deciding not to call so I won't mix myself up again, and then another year was wasted on pure stubbornness. I'm an idiot aren't I?"

"You are, but not as much me." Christa felt guilty, an obvious expression on her face.

Ymir noticed and scratched her cheek, uncomfortable with what she was about to say. "Look, I have a place not too far from here. It's not as big as this one, but it's comfortable. It'd probably be a little hard on Reiner if he kept living with you after you, you know rejected him... If you want you can stay with me." Ymir's offer definitely didn't come easy to her.

"Aww, you care about him."

"Shut up. I just was looking for an excuse to shack up with you."

"Whatever you say." Christa rolled her eyes but then gave the most beautiful smile. "I think you're right though. I guess I'll be moving in, but I'll ask Reiner how he feels about it first."

The two shared one more kiss, this time a lot gentler.

~oOo~

Reiner slugged out to the porch steps where he saw his friend already slouching. Reiner took a seat right next to him and saw that the fireworks were right by his feet. It took a few moments before Bert was able to register Reiner right next to him.

"Oh hey, how'd it go... by the looks on you, not well at all." Bertholdt answered his own question.

"Well, one thing led to another, and I found out she was in love with Ymir this whole time." Reiner stretched back and looked up at the stars that were beginning to dot the night sky. "Talk about a blow to the manhood."

Bertholdt looked at him in disbelief for less than a second before a melancholic smile came to his face. "And here I thought I was the only one that suffered a low blow tonight." Reiner eyed his friend curiously. It took Bertholdt some time to gather the strength to say it. "I was looking for the fireworks because you forgot to tell me where you hid them, but I accidentally ended up walking in on Annie and Mikasa..." he couldn't finish but by his facial expression amd the blush coloring his face, Reiner could finish it on his own.

"When... No, how... I thought they hated each other."

"Annie said she's not sure when exactly they started developing feelings for each other, or even what triggered it, but they've been a couple for a few months now and she's comfortable with it." Bertholdt explained the way it was explained to him. "I guess I can understand that, since that's just how I felt about her... how I feel about her."

"I thought you were completely over her."

"I guess not.", he admitted shyly.

Reiner shuffled around the fireworks for awhile, picking out a particularly big one that had caught his eyes the instant he saw it in the shop. "I guess we're both losers in love." He spoke as he inspected the pyrotechnic.

Bertholdt picked out a firework of his own, a tall one that looked like it could launch high before exploding. He smiled at Reiner. "How 'bout this, it's a new year, so cheers to finding a new love and cheers to getting over the last one!" He announced as he lifted the firework to Reiner's.

Reiner smiled back and chuckled. Bert always had the power to make things a little better. Tapping their fireworks like two glass cups, Reiner pulled out the lighter he stashed in his pocket. "Cheers."

They placed them on the ground, lit them, and got a safe distance away before they launched into the sky, Reiner's bursting first with a loud bang and a myriad of colors, followed closely by Bertholdt's, which brightly accented the flares from Reiner's.

Meanwhile, at the black car parked away from everyone, Ymir and Christa marveled at the light show.

"Happy New Year Christa." Ymir smiled down at her new girlfriend.

Christa smiled and, wrapping her arms around Ymir's neck, pulled Ymir down to her height and kissed her for a short moment before pulling away. "It will be!"

**~o End o~**

**Author's Note: **_Cheers to everyone! Enjoy the new year, I know I'm certainly looking forward to it :)_


End file.
